Always at the Forefront

Text by Atrium Magazin für Wohnkultur, Design und Architektur
Schlieren, Switzerland
15.05.14

Based at the foot of the Swabian Jura, lighting manufacturer RIDI develops technical innovations on a grand scale.

Historic: the "Römer" city hall in Frankfurt is illuminated by different, individually hand-produced luminaires with Omnio LED modules

When electrician Richard Diez founded the firm Ridi Leuchten sixty years ago, he probably had no idea of how big it would eventually grow. In the meantime, the company employs more than 500 people all over Europe – around 350 of them at its headquarters in the Swabian village of Jungingen.

Ridi's reputation is largely built on technical luminaires and functional continuous lighting systems. And since the brands Spectral and Ridihomelight were integrated into the group several years ago, sculptural, design-oriented luminaires and lighting for domestic interiors have been permanent features of the range as well.

Curvaceous: the flexible circuit boards of the "Sinus" luminaire are fitted with individual LEDs

Ridi has also established a new LED division. "Due to the technological changes that are revolutionising the lighting sector right now, we are investing in the development of LED technology," says Manfred Diez, the managing director of the family business founded by his father.

The firm is well on its way to the forefront in this field too – as its highly innovative products go to show. Ridi's LED tube system "R-TUBE", for instance, is suitable for use both in established louver luminaires and newly developed products. It guarantees maximum efficiency and, thanks to a special socket system, is just as easy to replace as conventional fluorescent lamps.

Looking to the future: Managing Director Manfred Diez with one of the LED circuit boards produced on site

Made to measure: a custom-built version of "Iris" will soon be lighting up Bristol Library – with a diameter of 2.5 metres

The new pendant lamp "Sinus" from the Spectral brand is another prime example of what can be done with LED technology nowadays. Its multiple curves are made possible by flexible circuit boards. What makes them so special is that Ridi doesn't just develop the circuit boards itself, it produces them as well.

The necessary machinery – such as an LED mounting line – has been added to the already considerable plant at the Jungingen site. Even so, by no means everything is automated. Take the extra-large ring-shaped luminaires that the company is currently making for a library in Bristol: the special editions of the LED pendant lamp "Iris" are being produced one hundred percent by hand.

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Photos: Markus Leser, Ridi

RIDI LEUCHTEN GMBH
Hauptstrasse 31-33
DE-72417 Jungingen
Tel. 0049 (0) 7477 872 0
Fax 0049 (0) 7477 872 48
info@ridi.de
www.ridi.de